Time Travel at Diu beach {Travel Postcards}

Diu has a special place in my heart. Even though we just stopped at Diu only for the night during our Jaisalmer – Ahmednagar road trip, we made sure we visited both the daman diu beaches. Sadly, our visit to the Diu beach was at low tide.

We reached Diu beach around 11AM. The sun was shining bright and Diu looked like it was losing patience. It was waiting for the tide to rise and quench the thirst of its shore.

The stalls were all set up waiting for tourists to pour in. The vendors had settled in and were waiting for their first customer or ‘boni‘. Boni is an hindi word used to refer to the first commercial transaction of a business day. Most merchants do not want to lose their first customer as it it considered bad luck and will offer you the best deal they have. Beware though, some might just use boni to trick you into believing that they are actually offering you the best price they can !

There were horses or ponies on Diu beach for some recreational activities for the kids. That’s when I spotted this little boy riding his pony with so much joy and frolic. I don’t know whether his family owned the pony and they rented it for the day and gave a cut of the money they made to the ‘bigger’ guys, the pony ride is how this boy made a living.

But right now, at 12 noon when there was no water on the shore and there were no kids to rent out his pony, the pony was all his. He rode the horse like he was the king of Diu. He galloped, he jumped, he maneuvered the horse’s reigns like he was in another era.

He straightened his back and signalled his horse to move. He didn’t have to kick his horse to tell him to quicken his steps, it was almost like telepathy. It looked like they were trotting totally in sync, like all they wanted was to gallop away together, to a whole new reality.